Today.

Hey Friends!

Make sure you check out Romance in a Glance today for my guest feature!

I had a great time writing/reflecting on my wedding day (and even though it was a year ago) it still makes me giddy to think about what a great day it was. Hope it is helpful to all those future brides-to-be out there! 

Savy, I have to say, this totally made my day! Thanks! Keep up your good work of providing LOTS of wedding inspiration.

I'm linking up with LML today.

Yesterday. (huh.)

Hi. Yesterday, I was looking through my wedding photos trying to make my final 50 selection for our wedding album. Really, I should have had this done months ago considering our 1st anniversary is coming up in less than a month. So, I have had an ENTIRE year and haven't been able to pick out 50 photos for our album. Lame.

One of the photos that I looked at was this one:

It is a photo of our guests dancing on the deck that went over the pool. (We got married on the deck, build by Jayson and friends, FYI. It was awesome).

It is a seemingly normal picture.

Until you take a closer look.

Here is Sisterfriend and Meghan. They both have these blank expressions on their faces. Odd. Sisterfriend even looks a little guilty.

Here is Erin and Meesh, who appear to be dancing with one another. Was this going on all night? No one knows. No comment needs to be made about Michelle's face, other than, she was really workin' the camera. Odd.

And lastly, I don't even know who these people are. I believe the girl is the daughter of the family who owned the home where the wedding was held. But the guy, no idea! How did he make it into the picture?

Needless to say, I don't think this picture made the cut for the top 50 to go in the wedding album.

more of {first comes marriage}.

After Jay and I had the big reveal, it was time for the photoshoot. It was so fun to have all the attention and have people tell you how beautiful you look. Anyone who says they don't like that kind of attention is lying. We went to Grandma Nord's farm to take pictures. Who is Grandma Nord, you ask? I don't know... all I know is that she came out mid-photo shoot to tell us congratulations and that we were lovely. Once again, positive attention. I love it. 

See this couch. I loved this couch. The photographer, Amanda Frank, brought it just for us. IT was awesome... and since our colors were yellow and grey, it was even more perfect.

Like I said before, I loved seeing each other before the wedding. We got to spend time alone and calm our nerves before the ceremony and vows. And we got to have fun. There was no one but us and our creative team, as we called them. 

ok, now for THE DETAILS:

I am the kind of person who loves the details in a wedding. I love to see what people pick because it says so much about their

personality.

Here are our invitations. Grey and Chartreuse. Birdcages. Simple and Sweet. WeddingPaperDivas.com

We used white table clothes. Scatter on various tables, there were vintage table clothes that I found at a local thrift store. Instead of doing all the same center pieces, some had cacti and succulents in glass vases (as seen here), while others had glass pitchers of wild flowers bought from the local farmer's market

This was Jay's gift to me. Enclosed in this little box was a handkerchief with my initials, a note, and an inscribed poem that I love. I love the handkerchief the most. It was the first thing I got that had my new initials. I cried. And that was the only time I really cried all day.

We got to get married at this house. Isn't it beautful?

These are my bridesmaids. Sisterfriend is the one on the right. They picked out their own dresses in different styles from J.Crew. So wonderful. Also, I let them pick out their own jewelry and any grey flats. They are adorable. (The other two are my sisters-in-law. Brandi-Boo is on the left and is married to my brother and Amy is in the middle and is Jay's sis).

Everyone, this is a pom-pom. Jay calls them alien balls. Call them what you will, but, they are awesome. Sisterfriend made almost all of them and we had them hanging at the wedding.

Example of a table. So in case you didn't know, I have the best friends in the whole world. And these friends set up and decorated the morning of the wedding. And it looked beautiful. Went you are having a backyard wedding, you really have to rely on those around you to help you out. I can't wait to return the favor for them someday.

See this thing floating over the pool beautifully. Jay, HeyBrother, and a friend built this deck just for the wedding. I am one lucky girl.

Here is a view of the deck from the front. We just stapled grey fabric to the front to hide the edges. See the pom-poms hanging in the back? So great. (If you are going to go to the trouble of making decorations like these, use them at the bridal shower too. I plan on using them at SisterFriend's future baby shower. Is she pregnant? No. But I like to think ahead!)
This deck seriously was awesome. We got married on it. Danced on it. It wiggled and shook. And it was so fun. The deck was one of the main highlights of the wedding. 

 For flowers, I went with lime green spider mums, billy balls, and white roses. (Those are our rings. Jay's ring was originally my Grandad's ring, that he wore for over 60 years. I love when objects have a special meaning.)

I wanted to cake to be kinda old-school. I was using my grandparent's original cake topper, which was really special to me. Again, I love things with history. So much more special than buying one online. LAME! I was so happy that they held onto for so long! Jay's grandma recently dug her cake topper out to show me. So beautiful. I love that even though Jay's grandma has been married for so long, she still finds joy in the small things. Her cake topper. I want to be like that.

ANYWAY, enough with the ramblings! Just wanted to share some details. The little details really add so much meaning to an already overwhelmingly important day. Love thinking back... So special. Makes me feel happy. Hope you enjoyed hearing about it. Memory Lane is always more fun with a friend.

Want to get a feeling of the wedding day? (your answer is ABSOLUTELY!) click HERE! 

transition one. {first comes marriage}

June 5, 2010.
Our Wedding Day was so special. Really. Every Moment. Ok, not every moment. But most. Here are some of the Highlights.

I bought my dress with Sisterfriend from the Little White Dress Shop in Bakersfield. That is a whole story. It was made by Nicole Miller and I loved it. It was not what I originally wanted but nothing in life ever is, and yet, I couldn't have been happier with it.

Sisterfriend helped me get dressed. The details of the wedding make everything special. The people make it even better.

I was so happy that Granmom was at the wedding. Grandad passed away Feb. 11, 2010 so having Granmom there was such a blessing. She loved the dress. We got each other. She passed away a month after the wedding. I am glad she stuck around.

Jay and I met before the wedding. very non-traditional, yeah, that's us. Anyway, we wanted more time for pictures and I think it was the best for us. We still had that special moment and it was much more private. Also, we did it at the park where he proposed to me. So special.

The whole day was this special. By the way, if you didn't notice, Jay is so handsome. I think it he is the best person I know. He is a way better person than I am. I love him. That's why getting to marry him was one of the best days of my life. Want a sense of the day ?(You Do!) go here.

first transition.

I got married. June 5th, 2010. It was a beautiful day. Beautiful, but extremely hot. So hot. Hot enough that sweat was dripping down my back to my leg. Not really the way a bride should feel. A bride should feel fresh and radiant. Not radiant with sweat. But any Bakersfield girl like myself knows what hot is. And boy was it hot that day. Luckily my mom bought these silly white bike shorts with lace around the legs from the junior's section at Kohl's the day before the wedding. Both myself and my sis got a pair to wear for the wedding. However, sis was silly enough to not wear them. HA. Sucker. She claims she forgot. She still has them. She probably didn't want to soil them. She wants to keep them forever. Mine were so sweaty and disgusting that I threw them away. But I really did like them.

Anyway, besides being so hot, it really was a beautiful day. Beautiful in that, I married the person I love the most. And everyone I loved was there. And they celebrated with me. And they were truly happy for me. It was awesome. 

Marriage has been my greatest adventure yet. We got married young. I am 22. He was 23. Some people think this is crazy. But really, I assure you. It's not. We couldn't be happier. 

There is so much to say about the wedding and our marriage. More on those later...